Abstract During Late Ordovician and Early Silurian time, from 450 to 428 million years ago, stromatoporoid sponges were some of the most common and abundant fossils in shallow water tropical settings of the Anticosti Basin (Gulf of St Lawrence). They formed dense, massive coralline skeletons of calcium carbonate, some up to a meter or more across, especially in reef environments, but also in deeper waters of the Anticosti shelf, down to the margins of the photic zone, where light faded. The Anticosti Basin reveals one of the most fossiliferous carbonate sequences worldwide for rocks of this age, straddling a global mass extinction boundary, and thus revealing not only those taxa that became extinct, but also how the seas were repopulated in an equatorial setting after the mass extinction.

Abstract This book deals with an important group of Frasnian (Upper Devonian) rugose corals from western Canada, the colonial disphyllids. The genera Disphyllum, Pantophyllum, Argutastraea, Hexagonaria, Whittakeria (new genus), and Kuangxiastraea are considered, with 16 species (4 of which are new) studied in detail.

Abstract Migmatites are highly heterogeneous rocks found in high-grade metamorphic environments; they are commonly encountered in the continental crust. Until now, many geologists have been deterred from working with migmatites because of their complex appearance and an unhelpful non-genetic nomenclature. In his Atlas of Migmatites, Dr. Edward Sawyer provides genetically based definitions and a system of nomenclature with which it will be possible to describe and map migmatites effectively and to understand how combinations of factors and processes produce a bewildering morphological diversity. Migmatites are produced by partial melting; to aid the reader in the identification of migmatites, the author describes and illustrates microstructures that can be used to infer the presence of melt or a melt-producing reaction. He also describes how geochemical data can be used to infer petrological processes involved in migmatite development. This book includes the results from two decades of research in whole-rock geochemistry, partial melting, microstructural analysis and experimental deformation of partially molten rocks. It contains information from an outcrop through to a grain scale. Exceptionally well illustrated, with 272 colour plates and accompanying detailed captions, the Atlas provides descriptions and analyses of migmatites not previously available.

Abstract A densely packed bone bed near Grande Prairie, Alberta, has produced abundant remains of a new species of ceratopsid. A minimum number of 27 individuals is represented in the part of the bone bed that has been excavated so far. The new animal— Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai sp. nov.— is closely related to the centrosaurine Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis, which has been recovered from younger beds in southern Alberta. It differs from the geologically younger species in having a relatively shorter nasal boss that is well separated from the supraorbital bosses. Juveniles of the new taxon resemble juveniles of Centrosaurus and other centrosaurines. However, the cranial morphology underwent a remarkable ontogenetic change, in which the nasal and supraorbital horns of the juveniles transformed into a huge nasal boss and smaller supraorbital bosses, and the frill became adorned with spikes and horns on top of and at the back of the parietal. Although there is some indication that the species may have been sexually dimorphic at maturity, it is not possible to separate sexual variation from individual and ontogenetic variation without a much larger sample. It is quite clear that the nasal boss supported some sort of keratinous structure, although it is not possible to determine its shape and function. No cause has been determined for the apparent catastrophic demise of a herd of P. lakustai. Key words : Dinosauria, Ceratopsia, Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai , Late Cretaceous, Alberta, Canada.

Abstract The Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai quarry on Pipestone Creek near Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, is a monodominant bone bed with well-preserved fossil bones that are predominantly completely disarticulated. Nearly every element within the skeleton is represented. Identified bones were grouped by transportability of the bones present using a previously published classification system. Just over 70% of the bones were classified within the most transportable group, indicating a fluvial allochthonous accumulation. Orientations produced by utilizing the bone bed maps indicate that there is no single directionality to the bones.

Abstract Information on the structure of the brain, cranial nerves, encephalic vasculature, and inner ear of the centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai (Upper Cretaceous, Wapiti Formation, Alberta, Canada) is presented based on computed tomographic scanning of an isolated braincase followed by 3D visualization. The resulting digital cranial endocast and endosseous labyrinth are the most complete for any ceratopsid, to date, and are compared with physical and digital endocasts of other ceratopsians. In general, the structure of the brain of P. lakustai , as inferred from the endocast, was relatively primitive and much more like extant nonavian diapsid endocasts than like endocasts of archosaur groups with derived brains, such as pterosaurs, hadrosaurs, or coelurosaurs (including extant birds). Total brain size is relatively small, and none of the externally discernable brain regions (e.g., olfactory bulbs, cerebrum, cerebellum, optic lobes) are expanded. Currently, there are insufficient data to determine whether the simple structure and small size of the brain of P. lakustai are truly plesiomorphic or represent apomorphic reduction (evolutionary reversal). The endosseous labyrinth reveals a short cochlea, suggesting that airborne sounds were not particularly important behaviorally. The semicircular canals of the labyrinth are actually somewhat more elongate compared with what little is known of other neoceratopsian labyrinths. The fossil specimen is slightly compressed transversely, and this plastic deformation was subsequently ameliorated by a simple digital retrodeformation that provides a realistic view of brain size and shape. The most significant biological result of the project is that, even accounting for any deformation, the sensorineural and cognitive capabilities of Pachyrhinosaurus were modest, certainly in comparison with some other dinosaur clades, such as hadrosaurids and coelurosaurian theropods. Note : An animation of the 3D visualization of the digital endocast is available on NRC Research Press’ Website at http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.calenglbooks/books/9780660198194.html Key words : Dinosauria, Ceratopsia, Pachyrhinosaurus, brain, behavior, endocast, CT scanning.

Abstract October 1, 2008, Philip J. Currie, Wann Langston, Jr., and Darren H. Tanke unveiled for the first time the name of a newly discovered horned dinosaur species. In the first monographic treatment of a horned (ceratopsid) dinosaur in almost a century, this monumental volume presents one of the closest looks at the anatomy, relationships, growth and variation, behavior, ecology and other biological aspects of a single dinosaur species. The research, which was conducted over two decades, was possible because of the discovery of a densely packed bone bed near Grande Prairie, Alberta. The locality has produced abundant remains of a new species of horned dinosaur (ceratopsian), and parts of at least 27 individual animals were recovered. This new species of Pachyrhinosaurus is closely related to Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis, which is known from younger rocks near Drumheller and Lethbridge in southern Alberta, but is a smaller animal with many differences in the ornamental spikes and bumps on the skull. The adults of both species have massive bosses of bone in the positions where other horned dinosaurs (like Centrosaurus and Triceratops) have horns. However, juveniles of the new species resemble juveniles of Centrosaurus in having horns rather than bosses. Skull anatomy undergoes remarkable changes during growth and the horns over the nose and eyes of the Pachyrhinosaurus juveniles transform into bosses; spikes and horns develop on the top of and at the back of the frill that extends back over the neck. No cause has been determined for the apparent catastrophic death of the herd of Pachyrhinosaurus from the Grande Prairie area, but it has been suggested that such herds may have been migratory animals. In addition to the main descriptive paper, the volume includes information on the distribution of bones within the bone bed itself, and a cutting-edge digital treatment of CT-scan data of the fossils to reveal the anatomy of the animal’s brain! See below to view the Pachyrhinosaurus braincase, fading away to reveal the brain within. Courtesy of Witmer & Ridgely, Ohio University.